AOL Shares Down 2% in First Day as Independent Company

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 10, 2009 - 10:02am.

New York - Shares of AOL (NYSE: AOL) fell more than 2% by midday Thursday on their first full day of public trading in nearly nine years. The company, which late Wednesday completed its spin-off from former parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), is trading under the symbol "AOL" on the New York Stock Exchange, where CEO Tim Armstrong rang the opening bell.

"As an independent company with a recognized global Internet brand, we will be competing for the future of content, communications and advertising and that is a very exciting and significant opportunity," said Armstrong.

While AOL shares stumbled out of the block, shares of Time Warner rose as much as 5%.

"With the separation of AOL, we've returned to our roots as one of the leading content companies in the world," said CEO Jeff Bewkes.

"We're now better positioned to focus even more closely on driving the best possible performance at our content businesses in the most efficient way."

Through the spinoff, owners of Time Warner stock received one share of AOL for each of their 11 shares.

Long known for its dial-up Internet service, AOL is attempting to reinvent itself as a content company, battling with the likes of Google and Yahoo for online advertising dollars.

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